Month: April 2008

After recently exchanging tweets with Richard McInnis , I found out it’s going to be his first time in SF. So was thinking about some stuff he should do and came up with a short list of things to consider doing. Especially if it’s your first time to SF and you want to escape the Web2.0Expo chaos. All of them are within walking distance or a very short cab ride from the Moscone Center area.

Hang out at Tunnel Top

It’s my favorite bar in the city. Has that beat up neighborhood bar feel. Great art on the walls. If you’re staying at a hotel in Union Square, you have no excuse to hit this place up on the way back to your room late at night.

Think you’re tough? Hit Buddha Lounge in Chinatown and have a shot of the “Hong Kong Stuff”. You may have to talk the bartended into giving it to you. I’ve seen grown men have half of this shot, then start running like mad, like they are trying to escape something they can’t.

Get your brown liquor fix at this speakeasy styled bar. This no place to order a chardonnay. This place can be a challenge to find (as speakeasy’s are supposed to be) so make sure you have the address handy.

Climb the Filbert Steps

Oh man, these are all bars. So how about a good urban hike? Sneakers preferred. Sandals will work too. Dress shoes? Forget it. When you get to the top of the stairs, you’ll be at Coit Tower and rewarded with killer views of Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge

Go to the View Lounge at the top of the Marriott and pretend to be the emperor

“Now witness the firepower of this fully ARMED and OPERATIONAL battle station!”

This one is pretty easy since it’s right across the street from Moscone at the top of the Marriott Hotel. Great view of the galaxy, I mean downtown San Francisco. Be warned – drinks here aren’t dirt cheap and you probably won’t be escaping the Web2.0Expo chaos. But you’ll feel like you’re in the Death Star. Isn’t that worth a $9 vodka tonic?

I know I said there would be a pause in new Mason photos, but videos don’t count. Especially since Flickr just started supporting video and I acquired a new JVC hard disk camcorder and I want to play with both.

Honestly, I take a lot of pictures and I take pictures of things other than Mason. Though you would never know it by looking at my Flickr photostream. So, for the next month, I’m going to focus on going back through my recent photos and posting pictures to Flickr of subjects other than Mason.

Of course, taking pics of Mason is tons of fun. He’s just so freakin’ cute.

Keturah and I paid a visit to her doctor yesterday and received some wonderful news. Our second baby, due in early August, is — or will be (depending on where you stand on the whole “what is life?” debate) — a boy. This will be our second child and our second boy. The baby is healthy and Keturah’s pregnancy is going very smoothly, especially now that she’s gotten through the winter and all the nasty viruses that were going around.

I’ll be honest and say that I had my fingers crossed for a baby girl, but any baby is a miraculous gift and what’s most important is that we have a healthy baby. When the doctor said “It’s a boy” and even zeroed in on the ultrasound to show the little guy’s “manhood”, any disappointment was quickly erased by joyous thoughts of a second son.

Any lingering regrets were definitely disposed of when a friend of mine sent me a text message that said “Now you just have to decide which one is the point guard and which one is the shooting guard.” I have to admit, the possibilities for seeing Toothman backcourt tandem in the future does sound immensely cool.

Keturah and Mason in Siena last fall. Mason’s going to be a big brother soon! But is he point guard material?

Our due date is August 10, 2008. There’s indeed a chance that our two sons will be will be exactly two years apart as Mason was born on August 2, 2006. A name has not been finalized yet, but we have some leading candidates. They are…